Karen Mabon

Whether they feature owls or dachshunds, ferns or flowers, Karen Mabon’s luscious patterns flow effortlessly throughout her designs, bringing the beauty and intricacies of nature to the fore. There’s also a quirky stream of humour in the Scottish artist’s work, some of which has a sensibility resting somewhere between Hieronymus Bosch and Where’s Wally. Karen is a multi-talented creative. She’s had great success designing silk scarves, but her work has transferred just as easily onto cushions, ceramics, illustrations, swimwear and pyjamas, and she also has a background in jewellery design. Growing up on the Black Isle, a peninsula in northern Scotland, her drawing skills came about because she had so little else to do growing up. That, and the fact that her father is a well-known painter. After spending 12 years in Edinburgh, she’s now based in London and says that moving there is one of the best decisions she’s ever made. When she’s not creating eye-catching patterns and imagery or travelling to promote her latest products, Karen loves poking around car boot sales or listening to audiobooks. She draws her inspiration from a whole range of artists and movements including British artists of the 1950s like Eric Ravillious and Enid Marx, folk and outsider art, Henry Darger illustrations and great painters like David Hockney, Eduardo Paolozzi, Peter Blake and Henri Matisse. Her favourite designer is Piero Fornasetti.